No borders

Australians talking beyond the nation

Bibliographic Data

ID6084246
AuthorsFarida Fozdar (0000-0003-3463-7299)
Year2017
Volume16
Issue3
Pages367-387
Publication date2017-06-22
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Language and Politics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1569-2159 • E-ISSN: 1569-9862
PublisherJohn Benjamins Publishing Company (PUBLISHER • NL)
DOI10.1075/jlp.15026.foz
OpenAlexW2606288043
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited46

Academic debate about the anachronism of national borders is extensive. The general population, however, has been less keen to embrace the idea of a ‘postnational’ world. This paper offers evidence from focus groups with Australians suggesting that in some quarters talking beyond the nation is occurring. However, the ideology of the nation-state remains strong, and such talk is quickly shut down using a particular rhetorical device. This is ‘the principle/practical’ dichotomy, which insists that dropping national borders is impractical for a range of reasons, despite it perhaps being a valuable idea in principle. The paper explores the ways this occurs, using detailed critical discourse analysis. Practical objections are generally framed in terms of governance rather than cultural issues. However, practical examples of existing ‘no borders’ situations are used to make the counter-argument that a postnational world is possible

Anachronism · Argument (complex analysis · Corporate governance · Economics · Epistemology · Focus (optics · Ideology · Law and economics · Linguistics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Population · Rhetorical question · Sociology · State (computer science · Migration, Refugees, and Integration · Political Systems and Governance · Social Media and Politics · Law · Philosophy

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